Don't expect mercy, Kerala's new Vigilance chief warns the corrupt

 Senior IPS officer Jacob Thomas, who has always been at loggerheads with the corrupt and those close to the power centres, took charge as the Director of  Kerala Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Thursday with a stern warning against corruption.

The corrupt should not expect mercy from me, Thomas said after taking charge. There will not be any warning at tall. The corrupt will face action instantly. All departments will be under our scanner. The VACB will work as a good team. As the captain of the team, I will be a good striker and a goalkeeper as well, Thomas said.

 "In the case of other departments, I will be the referee and the coach at the same time. If anybody played foul, I would pull out the yellow card and If that is not enough the red one. I will have both cards in my pocket, always," Thomas said. 

Asked about the bad experiences he had to undergo during the Oommen Chandy government, Thomas said that he considered it as just mosquito bites.

Thomas, who replaces IPS officer N Shankar Reddy, was the Managing Director of  Kerala Police Housing and Construction Corporation Ltd., when he was chosen as the VACB Director by the new LDF government. He has always been in confrontation with the UDF government, including former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and got shifted at regular intervals. Before heading the Police Housing Construction Corporation, he was the Director of Fire and Rescue Services and before that the ADGP of VACB.  During his stint at VACB, he probed the bar bribery case and also the controversial Pattoor land case that pointed fingers at former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and his cabinet colleagues.  

• Jacob Thomas Vigilance Director